In a groundbreaking hardware announcement made at Intel Innovation 2023, Intel revealed its visionary plan to incorporate glass into its manufacturing process by the end of the decade. This innovation, known as ‘glass core substrate technology,’ will supplant the current organic resin foundation, enabling Intel to accommodate a staggering 30 trillion transistors on a single chip.
The adoption of glass will grant Intel a remarkable 50% increase in chip area utilization. This expansion opens the door to fitting more CPU tiles within a single package. In conjunction with advancements like 3D stacking, Intel is poised to usher in an era where chips house an astonishing 30 trillion transistors on a glass substrate. This development translates into even faster CPUs, particularly tailored for high-performance computing and data centers. It also reaffirms the industry’s commitment to Moore’s Law, a prediction that foresees the doubling of transistors on a chip every few years.
So, why is Intel venturing into a glass-centric future? According to Babak Sabi, Intel’s senior vice president and general manager of Assembly and Test Development, it’s the culmination of a decade of research and innovation. Sabi stated, “After a decade of research, Intel has achieved industry-leading glass substrates for advanced packaging. We look forward to delivering these cutting-edge technologies that will benefit our key players and foundry customers for decades to come.”
Intel’s move towards glass substrates is necessitated by the impending limitations of the industry-standard organic substrate. The current norm involves system-in-packages (SiPs) utilizing four chiplets. However, Intel anticipates that glass substrates will enable the creation of 24 x 24 SiPs, dramatically expanding the capabilities of the fastest processors, particularly in the realm of high-performance computing (HPC).
Beyond the sheer transistor-packing potential, glass substrates offer improvements in power delivery to chips, which are becoming increasingly power-hungry. Their flatness enhances depth of focus for lithography, and their superior dimensional stability facilitates more efficient interconnects, enabling multiple chiplets to seamlessly communicate with each other.
Additionally, glass substrates exhibit remarkable heat tolerance, a crucial factor as Intel aspires to realize its ambitious goal of building massive 24 x 24 SiPs.
Intel has officially confirmed its commencement of using glass core substrates in packaging by the end of the decade. This move is poised to reshape the landscape of chip manufacturing, and it would be no surprise if the rest of the industry swiftly follows suit.
